William Somers “A gowne of blue satten, the ground yellow stripping
with a slight gold, a jerkin furred, with sleeves of same, furred with
conie” (427 (4) Exchequer Accounts, Q.R., P.R.O.).
Mary’s warrants to Sir Edward Waldegrave, Keeper of the Great Wardrobe,
were generally in favour of an individual or group of individuals of
the same class, as of the ladies of her chamber or ushers of her Court.
So much was to be “delivered” either for the occasion or annually. I
have not as yet found a notice of Jane so early as those of the others,
but this may arise from the fact that her expenses were always included
with those of the Queen, and were apparently retrospective. Mary’s
special warrants included her own personal wants, with occasional
references to those of King Philip; those of one lady, probably the
“chief” of her “women,” at first Lady Margaret Clifford (until her
marriage to Lord Strange on 7th February 1555-6); afterwards “Lady
Jane Seymour,” but always those of her two fools, William and Jane,
sometimes in strange juxtaposition. The earliest after her accession
which has been preserved is that of 27th April 1 Mary 427 (11)
Exchequer Accounts, in which are included:
Item, for thre yerdes of black satten geuen to Mʳ Herte, being Jane
our Foole’s Valantyne, _all of our great guardrobe_.[95]
Item, for making of a Douche gowne for Jane our Foole of striped
purple satten, the pleites lyned with frise and buckram, the bodyes
lyned with fustian.
Item for making of a kirtle for her of striped silk lyned with cotton,
the bodyes and placket lyned with lynnen cloth.
Item for making of a Douche gowne for her of Crimson satten striped
with golde, the bodyes lyned with fustian, the pleites lyned with
freize and buckram.
Item for making of a kirtle for her of blewe silke fringed over, the
bodyes lyned with lynnen clothe, the skirtes with cotton.
Item for making of a Douche gowne for her of crimson striped satten,
the bodyes lyned with fustyan, the plate with frieze & buckram, and
for sewing silk to the same.
Item for making a kirtle of like crymson striped satten for her, the
bodyes lyned with lynnen cloth, and the skirtes with cotton.
Item, for making of a cloak for her of yellow cloth garded with grene
clothe layde on with yellow whippe lase, and for pillow silk to stitch
it on.
Item for making of a Douche gowne for her of blew damaske chekered,
the bodyes lyned with fustyan, the pleight lyned with cotton and
buckram.
Item, for making of a kirtle for her all of white satten fringed with
copper silver, the bodyes lyned with lynnen clothe and the skertes
with cotton.
Item, for making of a kirtle for her of red vared silke lyned with
lynnen and cotton cloth.
Item for making of a peticoate for her all of red cloth.
Item for making of a Frenche gowne for the Ladye Margaret Clifford of
purple satten, etc.
It is a pity that the cost of the items is not given in this series
of papers, but it is evident that there is no distinction of quality
between the dress of Jane, and that of the great ladies of the Court,
though there is sometimes in the colours or combinations, and generally
in the shape. Jane seems to have worn Dutch gowns, and the courtiers
French gowns, but the material is as good for Jane as for them and the
number of garments greater.
The gentleman alluded to as Jane’s Valentine was probably one of the
sons of Sir Percival Hart, who are recorded as performing then a device
of their own before the Queen at Court.
This fact seems to suggest that Jane mingled with the other courtiers
on a somewhat equal footing. As to what “a Valentine” really implied
we cannot be sure, but it seems to have been normally conducted by an
annual casting of lots. In Mary’s privy purse expenses there is an
illustrative entry: “Item geven to George Mountjoye drawing my Lady
Grace to his Valentyne.” And in the list of the Princess’s jewels is
another: “Item, a Broche of gold enamyled blacke with an agaite of the
story of Abraham with foure small rockt rubies,” while at the margin is
added “Geven to Sir Antony Browne drawing her Grace to his Valentyne.”
At the foot of each page is the signature “Marye,” showing that the
Princess had passed the entries. In the autumn of the year 1 and 2
Philip and Mary 17th October, the Queen being at Westminster, issued
her warrants (427, 11. Exchequer Accounts):
Item to the said Marie Wilkinson our Silkewoman for one rich robe lace
of purple silk & gold for his saide Majestie, wrought very richly with
taffeta.
Then appears an item for “translating” some gowns for Lady Margaret
Clifford; then:
Item, to the saide Edward Jones, tailor, for making of a douche gowne
of fustian of Naples striped for Jane our foole, lyned with buckram &
fringe and fringed the bodyes lined with fustyan.
Item, for making of a kirtle for her of yellowe Turquey Satten, lyned
in Cotton, the bodyes and placarde lyned with lynnen clothe.
Item, for making of a douche gowne for her of grene satten tyncelled
with copper gold frenges, the plaites lyned with cotton and Buckram
the bodyes lyned with white Fustyan & paste Buckram.
Item, for making of a peticoat for her of red upperbodyed with Turquie
Satten, lyned with Lynnen Cloth.
Item, for making of a Dowche gowne of Cloth for Beden the foole,
frenged, the plaits lined with friese and buckram, and the bodyes
lyned with fustyan.
Item, for making of a kirtle for her of yellowe Turquey Satten lyned
with cotton.
Item for making of a peticoat for her of red upperbodyed with yellow
Turquie satten lyned with lynnen clothe.
Item, to the saide Marie Wilkinson sylkewoman for nine peire of blak
knit hose for the saide Jane our Foole, thirteene ounce and a haulfe
of frenge of divers colours of fine slaine silke employed upon two
gownes and two cappes for her, and for making the same.
Item, for twelve Handkerchevers of Holland for William Sommers our
Fole, thre peyre of lynnen hosen for him, two peyre of knit hose, two
ounce and a haulf of grene sylk employed upon a grene coate for hym &
thre dossen of grene buttons.
Item, more for him, haulfe an ounce of blewe silke employed upon a
coate of blewe damaske, one quarter of an ounce of silke for a doublet
of canvas, two dossen white buttons for the same doublet, and one
ounce and a haulfe of blew & yellow silke employed upon a Coat of Blew
damaske garded with yellow Vellat.
Item for sixe and thre quarters ounce of fine slayne silke frenge of
divers cullors employed by the said Edward Jones upon a gowne for the
said Beden the foole.
Item to John Bridges Taylor, for making of a gown of purple Damaske,
for the said William Sommers our foole with thre gardes of yellow
Vellat.
Item for making of a jerkin for him of purple damask plaine, four caps
of cloth, two russet, two of them garded with vellat, & stitched with
silk.
Item, more to the saide Henry Arnolde our Shewmaker, for seven peire
of shews to the saide Jane our fole.
This paper gives us two or three suggestive points. It shows that
the knitted silk stockings, supposed to be a new experience to Queen
Elizabeth, were liberally given to the Court Fool in the previous
reign. It also introduces a new word, “Beden,” evidently a proper name,
which can only mean one of two things; either that there was a second
Female Fool, and a third Court Fool, nowhere else alluded to, or that
“Beden” was the patronymic of Jane, which I take to be the case. I
looked carefully through all the household lists of earlier years for
a resembling name, and find a “John Bedon” mentioned three times as
yeoman of the Chamber to Henry VIII in 1525, 1531, and 1533, who would
have been a suitable enough father for her. There was also a John
Beddon, master of the vessel sailing to Bordeaux for the King’s wine in
1526, and a Richard Bedon on the commission of the peace for Surrey,
1541. I cannot connect “Jane” with any of these, but thought it wise to
note the names, as they may later yield some clue to her paternity.
The accounts here fail us at the Record Office, but fortunately they
have strayed no further than to the Bodleian Library, whither they may
be followed. Only six months later than the above list there were more
garments ordered for Jane, (See Calendar of Charters and Rolls in the
Bodleian, W. H. Turner; see also p. xviii.) In the account for 1 and 2
Philip and Mary, 10th April, at Hampton Court, we find:
Item for furring of a gowne (for William Sommer our foole) with gray
jennets tayles, with a peere of sleves and a caape of jennets tailes
to the same gowne, and fourtie white lambskynnes.
Item for furring of a gowne of grene figured Vellat (for hym) with
sixtene white hare skynnes and fourtie and sixe white lamb skynnes.
Item for furring of a jerken (for hym) of the same Vellat, with seven
white hare skennes and twenty whyte Lamb skynnes.
Item, for furring of a gowne of the same Vellat with sixe white hare
skynnes for Jane our foole.
Item, for thirteen dosen and a haulf of round silke buttons of sundrie
collours (for the saide William Sommer), two loupe buttons of silke,
and two dossen buttons of grene silke and silver, five ounces of black
stitching silke, sixe peire of Lemon hoosen, twelve shirts of Holland
Cloth, and twelve Handkerchens of Holland Cloth.
Item, for eight paire of black knit hoosen (for the said Jane)
seventeene ounces and a haulfe of Frenge of divers collors of fine
Spanish silke, for the frenging of a gowne and a cappe of divers
collors one peece[96] of green poynting Ribande for a gowne of grene
satten and striped with golde, and for the making of two cappes, the
oone with frenge, the other with Armiens.
Item, for thre yerdes of red cloth to make him a coate and two yerdes
of Vellat to garde the same for lining, making, and embroidering of
our letters.
Item, for 12 peire of shewes for the said Jane.
The account of six months later, also preserved at the Bodleian,
continues the story (1st October 2 and 3 Philip and Mary, Greenwich):
Item for making of a loose gowne of greene vellat for Jane our foole,
tyncelled with golde of our store lined with blacke cotton, the fore
sleeves lined with friese and bagges and staye for the same.
Item for making of a Douche gowne of Fustian of Naples edged with
frenge, the plaites lyned with buckram and cotton, the bodyes and
sleves lined with frise, the collor lyned with stiff buckram.
Item, for making of a Kirtle (for her) of striped unwatered Chamblet
with bodyes, the nether parte lyned with blacke cotton, and the bodyes
and placarde lyned with Lennen clothe.
Item, for twelve peire of shewes for the said Jane.
Item, for making of two Grene coates for the saide William Sommer, the
one garded with Vellat, the other playne and lyned with cotton.
Some other accounts seem to have vanished altogether. Jane appears to
have been in trouble again, as among the lists of New Year’s gifts for
1556 are two:
Geven to a woman dwellyng at Burye for healing Jane the Foole her eye,
oone guilt salt with cover.
To Maistres Ager for keping the saide Jane during the time of the
healing of her eye, two guilt saltes.
The relative handsomeness of these gifts seems to show Mary’s
appreciation of her Woman Fool. A later account at the Record Office
(427, 18 Exchequer Accounts, 27th March, 6 Mary, Greenwich) shows
continued liberality:
Item thre yerdes of blacke Satten geven to Mʳ Barnes, being Jane Foole
her Valantyne.
Item, for making of a petycoat for Lady Jane Seymour of Scarlet garded
with crimson vellat, &c....
Item for making of a Dowch Gowne for Jane our foole of blew fustyan
of Naples, the pleights lyned with cotton and buckram, the bodyes and
sleeves with fustyan, the upper sleeves with fryse and for making of
a kyrtle for her of striped mockado, lyned with cotton, the bodyes
and placard with lynnen clothe. And for making of another dowche gown
for her of wrought fustian of Naples, the pleights lyned with cotton
and buckram, the bodyes and sleeves with fustyan, the upper sleeves
with fries and the collor with paste buckram and also for making of
a kirtle for her of striped Russet lyned with cotton the bodyes and
placarde lyned with lynnen cloth.
Item for three yerdes of Russet Clothe to make a gowne for William
Sommers his sister....
Item, delivered to the saide Lady Jane Seymour six peces of blak jeane
poynting ribande four peces of hollowe lase, one pece of girdling and
thre ownce of crimson sylke in graine.
Item, delivered for the said William Somer eyght dossen of round silke
buttons, thre ounce thre quarters of sylke, twelve shirtes of Holland
cloth, twelve handkerchers of holland, fowre peyre of woollen hose,
sixe peyre of lynnen hose, also two peyre of black buckram hose.
Item, delivered for the said Jane foole thirty one ounce thre quarters
of frenge in collours for frenging of the said two gownes and cappes
of fustian of Naples, and for making of the same cappes And for
thirteene peyre of black knit hoose.
The next item is a long list of velvet shoes for the Lady Jane
Seymour--so long, indeed, that one must think she had to supply the
other ladies of the Chamber.
Item for twelve peire of shewes for the saide Jane Foole.
Item, for the said Thomas Perrye for furring of a gowne of clothe for
the said William Somer, with thre tymber of Callake(?) and thyrte &
eighte white lambe skynnes.
Item to the saide Mary Wilkenson, for four elles of Holland delivered
to the said William Somer, etc.
The special feature of handkerchiefs in the wardrobe of William
Sommers is noticeable. Other retainers do not seem to have had similar
grants. He had apparently had this year a visit from his sister, whose
relatively humble position is implied by the material of her garment.
It may be remembered that Armin in his “Nest of Ninnies” gives a
delightful account of the visit of William Sommers’ uncle to Court in
Henry’s days. But we hear nothing further of the sister.
It is difficult to decide which “Mʳ Barnes” was Jane’s Valentine this
year.
Then comes the last account of all, which becomes touching when we
remember how Mary, crushed with ill-health, and the neglect of the
husband for whom she had risked so much, with the loss of Calais, with
long-continued “evil weather,” with the disaffection of her subjects,
and the shrinking of her income, gave up all gaiety and expense.
Yet Mary, _about to die_, does not limit her expenditure upon her
Court Fools, faithful among many faithless. (Exchequer Accounts, 31st
October, 6 Mary 427, 18.) St. James:
Item, for furring of a gown of red fustian of Naples for Jane oure
fole, with a here collored furre....
Item for William Somer our fole, seven ounce and a haulf of silke,
one gross of buttons with stawlkes, eyght tassels of grene and yellow
silke, two elles of Holland clothe, tenne peyre of Lennen hoose, fyve
peire of Buckram hoose, haulfe a dossen of Handkerchievers, and thre
dossen of round buttons.
Item for the said Jane our foole, thirteen ounce and a haulfe of silk
freenge to frenge a gowne and two cappes, for making of the saide
two cappes, and for thre ounce of grene silke for another gowne of
grene damaske, one pece of crimson ribande and twelve pair of woollen
hose....
Item, for making of twelve peire of lether shewes for the said Jane
our foole....
Item to Richard Tysdale Taylor, for making of two grene coates for
William Somer our foole thone garded with Vellat, and thother plaine,
both lined with cotton, for making of two canvas doublets for him
lyned with Bockram, and for making of a gowne of grene damaske garded
with yellow vellat, and for making of a jerkin of same damaske
lykewise garded with yellow Vellat.
And then the end came. Doubtless Mary’s two fools, after the way of
their kind, knew more of the heart of their liberal mistress than many
of her retainers. They do not seem to have offered their services to
her successor, or to have been invited to her Court, though William
Sommers had some payments made to him early in her reign. He apparently
gravitated eastward from the Court, to the neighbourhood afterwards so
famous for players and jesters, and he was buried in St. Leonard’s
parish church in the Liberty of Shoreditch on 15th June 1560.
But there is no further word of Jane--she disappeared on the death of
her royal mistress. I did not know of the name of “Beden” when I went
through the registers of many London parishes; and though I have gone
through the printed registers of others, I have as yet seen no record
of the burial of any “Jane Beden,” or even of “Jane, a woman,” as was
sometimes a clerk’s way of expressing the identity of the defunct. It
is possible that through the suggestion of the patronymic some future
worker may find some more details of the life of Jane, Queen Mary
Tudor’s female Fool.
_“Athenæum,” 12th August 1905._
FOOTNOTES:
[95] This phrase is repeated every time.
[96] A “peece” does not here mean an indefinite quantity, but a known
length for each material, 6, 12, 18, or 36 yards.
XXVII
ELIZABETH’S FOOLS AND DWARFS
It has been presumed that Elizabeth found her life interesting enough,
and her Court attractive enough, to be able to do without the spice
of the Court Fool or the contrasts of the Court Dwarf. But though
no facetiae have come down to us as memorials of their existence in
contemporary letters or State Papers, it is evident that she sometimes,
at least, had such attendants. From the accounts of the Treasurer of
the Chamber, we can see that Mary and Elizabeth supported William
Somers, their father’s Fool, until his death. (He was buried in St.
Leonard’s, Shoreditch, on 15th June 1560.)
Scrappy notes are scattered through the Warrants and Wardrobe Accounts
in the Lord Chamberlain’s Books, and give us a few details. There is
one series of these in English, and another in Latin, richly garnished
with English borrowings. In later papers we find references to “the
Fool,” and other allusions to unclassified persons who may have acted
as such. There are “Sara Snow,”[97] “Monarcho,” “William Shenton,” “a
little Blackamoor,” and “Thomazina, our Woman Dwarf.” There is also a
mysterious “Ipolyta the Tartarian,” who has a warrant dormant granted
her for sets of robes and garments every year, dated 4 and 5 Elizabeth,
in which she is described as “Ipolyta the Tartarian, our dearly beloved
woman.” Some of the particular payments for her robes and kirtles and
the richness of her clothes show she was dressed on a level with the
Court ladies. About the same time are granted clothes to another woman,
and between the two is mentioned unconnectedly “The Foole.” This is the
first time any fool is mentioned. Such rarely are referred to without
a name, if it is so done here. It is possible it may refer to one of
the women. It has been said that “there have been no women fools.” But
I answered that statement in my paper in this journal on “Jane, the
Queen’s Fool” (12th August 1905). To understand the present reference I
must give it here in full:
Sara Snow. For twelve yardes of black satten to make her a
gowne, and 2 yardes of velvet to gard the same.
The Foole. Item, for 2 yardes of crimson sarcenet delivered
to Henry Herne to lyne the said Foles hosen.
Ipolyta the Item, to the said Henry Herne for 8 paire of
Tartarian. cloth hosen for her, all of our great Warderobe.
Item, to the said Garret Johnson for six paire of
Spanish Lether shoes for her.--“L. C.,” v, 34,
p. 17.
Ipolyta. Item, to the said Adam Blande for furring of
two cassocks of cloth for Ipolyta the Tartarian with
12 black coney skins from our great wardrobe.--p. 43.
On page 41 is another of those entries which suggest more than they
tell, the first notice of “Monarcho”:
To Thomas Ludwell for making of a gowne of red grograyne chamblet for
an Italian named Monarcho garded with three yardes of blue velvet with
buttons of copper gold, a doublet for him of striped sackcloth faced
with red taffeta,
lined with fustian furred, and “a hat of blue taffeta striped with gold
lace.”
On page 240 there were a number of similar robes entered “for
Monarcho,” and after these,
Item, for making of a Gascon coate for a lytle Blackamore of white
Taffata, cut and lyned under with tincel, striped down with gold and
silver, and lined with buckram and bayes, poynted with poynts and
ribands ... and faced with taffata ... with a white taffata doublet
with gold and silver lace, silver buttons, faced with Taffata; a
payre of Gascons, a pair of knit hose, a paire of white shoes and
pantoufles, a dozen of poynts, and a paire of gaiters.
On page 266 appears:
The Foole. Item, for making of a Gaskyn cote for a foole of graie
cloth, striped with sylke lace sewed with sylke, with buttons and
poyntynge riband faced with taffata, lined with fustian; for making of
a doublet for him of Striped Sackcloth trymmed with silk lace, faced
with taffeta lined with fustian.... Item, for making a hatt for the
said foole of gray clothe, layd upon with sundry devices of sylke lace
and a feather trimmed with gold and spangles. For a pair of gaskins
for a foole of gray clothe trimmed with lace of divers colours.
On page 310:
Monarcho ... a gowne of gold Tincell for Monarcho guarded with yellow
velvet layd on with lace, faced with chaungeable macadowe ... a
doublet for him of striped sackcloth trymmed with lace ... a jerkin
[for him] of chaungeable mockado striped above with billymente lace,
furred with 44 black coney skynnes and 10 white lamb skynnes.
On page 312:
Item, for making of a coate of freyze for William Shenton our Foole,
cut and lined underneath with mockado ... for making of a doblet of
striped sackcloth trymmed with lace ... a pair of gascons of mockado
trimmed all over with billyment lace, 2 paire of knit stockings,
garters, and girdle of leven taffata and 2 knit cappes.
The resemblance between the dress of “William Shenton our Foole” and
that of “Monarcho” makes me think the latter also of the class Fool.
Some have suggested that Richard Tarleton acted the Fool to Elizabeth,
but he was very different. He was the chief of the Queen’s company of
players, of whom Stow says “for a wondrous pleasant extemporal wit, he
was the wonder of his time.”
After many years of accounts for “Ipolyta the Tartarian” she
disappears, and her place in the books is filled by another (v. 36),
even more gorgeously robed, in 1577-8 (page 110):
The Dwarf. Item, for making of two gownes, thone of white damask,
thother of blew chamblet [for a woman dwarf] for two peticoats, thone
of mockado, thother of red kersey [for the said Dwarf], laced with
blew silk, upperbodied with mockado.
Page 174, 1578-9:
For making of a straight bodied gown of chamblet for Thomasina, a
woman dwarf, garded with velvet, laid on with lace of crimson and
white silk ... a paire of sleves of Carnation taffata cut [for her],
lined with sarcenet; a peticoat of red mockado striped with copper
gold, laid over with lace ... a straight bodied gown of watched
taffeta with hanging sleeves laid with lace of counterfeit silver and
silk ... a paire of sleeves of orange collored Taffata ... a peticoat
of stamell coloured cloth garded with velvet laid on with lace of
crimson sylke with bodies of crimson taffata.
The materials become richer as the years go on. 1580:
A gowne of blacke wrought vellat, the grounde yellow sattin, for
Thomasina the dwarfe, layde with counterfeit silver lace ... a
straight bodyed gown of yellow satten striped with silver ... a gowne
of orrendge coloured chamblet garded with blacke vellat ... 3 paire of
sleves of white satin (p. 239).
She was in mourning in 1585.
From the other series of accounts in Latin an even fuller description
can be gained of the increasing gorgeousness of “Thomasina, our Woman
dwarf”:
a _toga_ of white satin with gold lace and ribbon, the sleeves jagged
and lined with carnation satin.
In 1589 she had a
gown of carnation and black fygured satin lined with silver lace, a
stomacher and sleeves of white satten cut and lined with silver lace;
a gowne of changeable silk grograine with 2 paire of sleeves, and
a stomacher and sleeves of white sattin, fringed with gold lace; a
petycoat of changeable tuft-taffeta with 3 gold lace about, the bodyes
carnation satin.
The following year she had a similar gown of tuft taffeta laced about
with Venice silver, the bodice and sleeves wrought all over with like
lace. The next gown for “Thomasina Muliercula” was a variety